Read Online

02/15/2012

Texas "super-PAC" siding with Kucinich in Ohio 9th

A "super-PAC" based in Houston has sent information material into the 9th Congressional District to help U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D., Cleveland) against U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur in the primary contest in Ohio's 9th Congressional District.

The Campaign for Primary Accountability has conservative backers and its funders appear to be corporate CEOs from the Houston and Midland, Tx. area - not the typical demographic for Kucinich.

Here's what their mailing says:

"Dennis doesn’t always do what’s popular – he does what’s right. With Washington at a standstill, it’s more important than ever that we have a Congressman who stands up for us… For Dennis, holding elective office has always been about service to the people he represents. Whether that involves reaching out to an agency on behalf of an individual or on behalf of an entire community, or even reaching out to a whole community to enact change, Dennis gets it done."

Suspicions to the effect that this is some kind of ruse to elect Kucinich as the weaker candidate so that Tea Party favorite Samuel "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher can be elected in November are groundless, said spokesman Curtis Ellis.

He said the Campaign for Primary Accountability is nonpartisan and is interested only in primary elections. Its intent is to educate people that the only election that counts in most congressional districts is the primary election.

The 9th District, which stretches from Cleveland to Toledo, is heavily Democratic and was said to be drawn that way by Republicans to squeeze as many Democrats into one district as possible to maximize the chances of Republicans winning other districts.

"I don't want to be disrespectful of people’s faith, but if Jesus Christ were the Republican nominee, whoever wins the Democration nomination will win in November," Ellis said. He said the Republican primary contest between Mr. Wurzelbacher and Huron auctioneer Steven Kraus is "irrelevant" to the outcome of the general election.

"We’re helping people understand that the election that will decide who your representative is in Congress takes place in the primary," Ellis said.

But why Kucinich over Kaptur?

"We do believe that Dennis is the more independent, he's his own man," Ellis said.

The Ohio 9th is one of about half a dozen such contests that Campaign for Primary Accountability is entering. Another one is the Ohio 2nd District, where incumbent Republican Jean Schmidt is being opposed by Brad Wenstrup. The PAC is supporting Wenstrup.

The pac's lead funder is Houston construction mogul Leo Linbeck III, a self-described “conservative communitarian” who has led a national effort to shift control of the nation’s health from the federal government to the states. He has put more than $775,000 into the new super PAC that reports $1.8 million in its funds, according to The Texas Tribune.

Kucinich on Wednesday declined comment on the super pac's intervention.

Miss Kaptur called the PAC "anarchists from Texas," because of their opposition to government.

"Who are these people and what are they doing in Ohio politics," she asked. She said the group appears to be targeting congressmen with committee seniority.

Super pacs are a new creature under federal campaign law that are allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money, but cannot coordinate with any candidate.